This week in small business: Best and worst industries and a good reason to catch some more shut eye
This weeks’ collection of curated content includes a “fastest-growing” list along with a compilation of the 10 worst performing industry sectors. Use that info as best you can. And if you need an excuse to snag some more snooze time, we have that too. Leadership, management, and productivity Rose Leadem created an infographic that depicts unusual team-building methods of some famous bosses…they sound pretty fun to us. Holly Grogan, chief people officer at Tribridge, is the subject of this edition of Laura Emily Dunn’s Women in Business Q&A. This seems too good to be true (but I’m hoping it’s not!): Dawne Davis says we can boost our brain productivity by 13 percent with another 36 minutes of sleep. (Excuse me while I put this to the test …) Always on the lookout for good online tools and resources, we appreciated this article by Karen Repoli. Marketing and sales Ouch! See how many of the 16 dumbest content market mistakes – as listed by David Spark – you’re guilty of. It’s a topic that we keep coming around to: video marketing. In this piece, Nicki Howell calls it the savvy strategy for 2017. Entrepreneurship, startups, and innovation Thinking about pulling the plug on your startup? Maybe you should bring in a re-founder first, says George Deeb. Sometimes it’s hard to know what to focus on, especially for rookie entrepreneurs. Kc Agu suggests five metrics. Want to kick the tires before you jump on the bandwagon? Check out Susan Adam’s collection of the fastest-growing women-owned businesses for 2017. And while we’re on the topic of women entrepreneurs, Nada Al Rifai profiles Dunia Othman on what it’s like working as a female entrepreneur in a male-dominated world, and operating in the Arab Middle East, Othman knows of what she speaks. We’ve talked about the “fastest growing,” now how about the other side of the coin? For that info, check out Mary Ellen Blery’s article where shares Sagesworks’ stats on the 10 worst performing U.S. industries by sales. Ali Ash looks at the art of disruption in both entrepreneurship and in life. You’ll find lots of good observations on tech startups in Daniel Senyard’s “Fake it Til You (Have To) Make it: Get Your Hands Dirty Early on to Prove Product/Market Fit.” Politics, government, and the economy By all accounts, productivity growth has been less than stellar. Charles Hughes says that high-tech growth is the key to solving the productivity...
read moreThis week in small business: The economy under a microscope
There are several ways to look at the economy. Is it strong? Is it circular? Are gigs starting to dominate? Those are three of the topics explored this week. And, as usual, you’ll also find a lot of great leadership, management, and marketing advice in our collection of curated content. Politics, government, and the economy Writing for the World Economic Forum, Mark Esposito takes an in-depth look at “the circular economy” and what it means for global commerce. John White covers how the rapid rise of the gig economy is changing the way many people work. Adam Samson reports that the Fed’s anecdotal Beige Book indicates that the U.S. economy continued to expand on a “modest or moderate” pace between April and May. Leadership, management, and productivity It’s one thing to generally accept the idea of women in business leadership positions. It’s another thing to see them leading in industries typically associated with men, like chemicals, machines, electronics, bridges, or railways. That’s what Kathy Deehan discusses in her Europe Business Review article. Are you up to speed on NMT, Neural Machine Translation? Probably not, so you’ll benefit from what Jeff Charles explains here. In her Women in Business Q&A series, Laura Emily Dunn talks to Emma Bates, Head of Global Marketing and Operations at Away. Tired of feeling like something less than even a second-class citizen when you fly? If so, take a look at J.T. Genter’s article, “How to Use Credit Cards to Defeat Basic Economy.” There’s some good practical advice in John Rampton’s article on 25 invoicing mistakes you need to avoid. And while we’re on the topic of mess-ups, you might want to print out these 10 mistakes to avoid as detailed by Annie Pilon and then stick it on your refrigerator. Marketing and sales Yuyu Chen delivers a great overview in his Digiday piece on “The state of influencer marketing.” Anyone using Salesforce will want to read Bobby Brill’s “Quickly Identify and Clear Bottlenecks in Your Sales Process Using Sales Wave Analytics” on the Salesforce blog. In a somewhat related vein, also check out Jon Simpson’s “The Key To Marketing Success Isn’t Your Creative, It’s Your Analytics” on the Forbes site. Need freelance clients? Abdullahi Muhammed offers four content marketing hacks he says will get the job done…or the job booked. Could a podcast boost your marketing campaign? That’s the question Jayson DeMers asks and answers here. You’ve probably seen these things everywhere, so there are some marketing lessons you can learn from the Fidget Spinner craze, says Braveen Kumar. Entrepreneurship, startups, and innovation Spin your golden years into gold: “How Older Entrepreneurs Can Turn Age to Their Advantage,” by Roger St. Pierre. Jane Flanagan of FreshBooks delivers something of a confession when she relates her past life as a small business owner and what she would do...
read moreWhy a Mobile Franchise Could be a Smart Way to Start a Business
If you are sick of staring at the same four walls, seeing the same people, and sitting at a desk for 40 or more hours a week and want to start your own business, owning a mobile franchise could just be the right thing for you. Franchising is an effective alternative to DIY start-ups. A mobile franchise allows owners to have a flexible schedule and proven business structure. Benefits: Many people are ditching their current jobs to start their own business and many are choosing a Mobile Franchise because of all the benefits you can get from not just being an employee at a company or starting a business from scratch. Strong Customer Relationship– When you own a mobile franchise, you travel to your customers so, you start to gain trust with quickly. Not only does a mobile franchise allow you to get to know your customer, but it provides an opportunity to better understand their concerns and interests. Strong customer relationships will increase your sales and provide you with an opportunity to up-sell. Flexible Work Hours– Everyone loves to design their own work schedule based on their lives. If you are a mobile franchise owner, you get to pick your own hours and set your own schedule. That gives you the freedom to manage your family needs, school work, holidays, and even other jobs. Be your Own Boss– Being your own boss can be very rewarding because you’re in charge. Because the majority of the time a mobile franchise is managed by one or two people, so instead of worrying about employees, you can focus on building your business. In some cases, you may have multiple units which require the addition of employees. Additionally, you might want to consider having a few employees so you can take a day off now and then. However, you won’t find yourself bogged down with a huge payroll. Exposure– With a mobile business you aren’t tied down to a single store location where you have to wait for the customers to come to you. Your wheels are your business. When traveling from one site to another you are marketing your business. The more units you have on the road, the more visible you are to customers. For example, if you are running a food truck business, you won’t be stuck in one location. Your restaurant can move to where the customers are. Low startup costs– Many mobile franchises have a very low initial investment making it affordable to get into the business. Furthermore, when you purchase a mobile franchise you have essentials you need to be successful. It’s sort of like a business in a box. You’ll have a blue print to follow an assistance from the franchisor so you don’t have to do it alone. Red Flags As attractive as a mobile franchise can be, not all are smart bets. There are some things that you should be aware of if you are thinking about buying a mobile franchise. Hidden costs– Make sure that you do your research and know exactly what you are getting for your money. You want to make sure that you have a full understanding of all of the costs you might incur when starting a mobile franchise unit. Territories– You want to be able...
read moreAre you ready for a quiz on social media quizzes?
I bet you’ve taken more quizzes on Facebook than you did throughout your four years of high school. Am I wrong? To be honest, I always suspect they have just made up those claims that “97 percent can’t answer (fill in the blank),” but in any case, these quick quizzes often pull us in. There are free – and paid – tools for creating you own quizzes that you can embed in your Facebook page and website. Posting a quiz on a regular basis isn’t a bad idea. Your audience will appreciate the different kind of “content,” and there’s a decent chance that your quiz will be shared and therefore bring new visitors to your social media account or website. Various quiz styles Most of the quiz-building apps require you to input the questions and answers yourself. There are a variety of quiz “styles” available among the providers, including lists, polls, trivia, swipers, personality-based, and more, including the currently popular “What kind of (fill-in-the-blank) are you?” As a small business owner, you can create quizzes that not only engage clients and prospects, but also teach them about your product, service, or industry along the way. This can serve to build your authority among your target audience. Or, you can go in the completely opposite direction and make your quiz pure fun or funny. Hint: If you want an easy “hook” for a funny quiz, base it on the incredible exploits of Chuck Norris! Top quiz apps Some currently popular quiz-building apps are: Quizworks. Free to $99 per month. Quizmaker. $15 to $99 per month. (Free trial period.) Free Online Surveys. Free to $20 per month. Qzzr. Free to $300 per year. Also, higher priced enterprise plans. Playbuzz. Free entry level, but also has an advertising program. OneClick Quiz Maker. SurveyAnyPlace has a free quiz maker that does all the work for you. You enter a person or organization and it looks up info on the web to create the questions. Due to human nature, I believe quizzes will continue to be popular on the Internet. We love to be included in the top 3 percent of all people when it comes to identifying movie characters or having command of any other area of knowledge. We also want to know what Jane Austen character we would be or what color best represents our personality. With those facts clearly established, be sure to include quizzes, polls, and surveys in your content and social media marketing...
read moreFollow the four compass points for paths that lead to growth
Have you considered all your options for growing sales? You can think of the growth paths as points on a compass: North: Expand by adding higher priced offerings. South: Expand by offering a lower priced, entry-level offering. East: Expand your territory geographically. West: Expand your territory through exploration. Adding higher priced products or services In many ways, this is the most desirable way to increase sales because the margins are better. I remember an old friend who sold new cars. He had the job during one of the eras when gas prices shot up and people turned to buying smaller cars. He (along with the automaker) didn’t make as much money selling small cars because it basically cost as much to make and sell an economy car as it does a larger, luxury car. They both have four wheels that need to be installed, one engine that needs to be built and installed, the same number of seats, and the list goes on. Further, the cost is the same whether you’re marketing an economy car or luxury car. In your business, you already have systems in place for sales and service. If you can work some higher-priced products or services into the mix, it’s the ideal way to increase profits. Add a lower priced product or service As big as I am on increasing prices, it’s a fact that even “freemiums” work for many businesses. If you need to get people through the door to introduce them to your superior products or services, you might try lowering the barrier to entry, in other words: your price. Don’t cannibalize your money makers, but find a way to offer a stripped-down version of your product or service and devise a system through which you pull people up to your higher-priced offerings over time. Expand your territory geographically Have you sensed a demand for your product or service in other locations? If so, that’s a great sign that it’s time to expand. If not, find a way to test demand in other locations. Take out a short-term lease on a location, for example, or piggy-back in another business’ location. But here’s what’s important: If you expand geographically, be sure you use the systems and services of your “home base” so you aren’t duplicating overhead, or fixed costs. You want to increase profit margins! Expand your territory through exploration Go where no man has gone before…or at least where your product or service hasn’t gone before. Find new markets and applications for your product or service. Talk to existing customers and see how they use your product or service. It might give you hints where new markets might be. Consider tweaks to your product or service, or to your marketing, to make it more appealing to a new group of consumers. With so many immigrant groups in the United States, adapting your product or service to meet the language and/or cultural requirements of these new groups could expand your business. Here’s one final note that applies to each of these “compass point” paths: Offer an impressive money-back guarantee. In every case, you’re trying to sell to people who haven’t bought from you previously. Dispel their fears and reluctance by offering a guarantee that eliminates their risk. It’s a strategy that virtually always...
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